SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The UMKC women’s soccer team (3-5-1) came away with an impressive victory over the Missouri State Bears (4-6) by a final score of 4-0. The Roos were fueled by an offensive explosion early in the first half and never looked back in Friday night’s match.

After a tough 1-0 loss to Omaha where a late penalty kick goal decided the game, UMKC showed great resolve by opening play with an overwhelming attack against Missouri State.

It took less than one minute of play into the contest for the Roos to strike with the opening goal. Kelsey Mothershead (Smithville, Mo.) pushed the ball close to 30 yards up the left side and maneuvered her way into a scoring position. Her shot from ten yards found its way past the keeper at the 0:58 mark, capping off a great individual effort with her second goal of the season.

Moments later, UMKC found another score to quickly extend their lead out to two goals. A well-placed corner kick from Hayden Burnett(Wichita, Kan.) found its way to teammate Kara Priest(Overland Park, Kan.) inside the box. Priest, who later added an assist, converted the corner kick into her second goal of the season with a header at 2:07.

The Roos had reason to celebrate once more just one minute later as the team refused to ease up on their relentless attack. Lexie Howard(Kearney, Mo.) found the net in the 3rd minute on a shot fired from just outside the box to complete a UMKC run of three goals in three minutes. The goal was Howard’s fourth of the season.

Missouri State made a goalkeeper change following the third score but the three goals on the board loomed large in the early stages of the contest. No further scoring from either side sent the match into halftime with a 3-0 UMKC advantage.

“That was certainly the type of soccer that we have been hoping to see,” shared head coach Chris Cissell. “It was an outstanding performance and was great to get contributions from the entire team.”

UMKC would add their fourth goal of the evening in the second half play, setting a new season high. It was Lexie Howard once again who found the net to mark the final tally of the game. Howard received a nice pass from Reighan Childers(Grain Valley, Mo.) and weaved her way inside the box, where she would strike with her fifth goal of the season.

The 4-0 win marked the third shutout of the year of goalkeeper Anna Lillig (Kansas City, Mo.), who finished the match with five saves. A total of 22 players saw the field for the Roos, with every player recording at least 17 minutes.

“This was an extremely positive night for our team in many ways.” noted Cissell. “Missouri State was coming off two big wins and had some momentum. We were able to come out with a win but also were able to give our entire team significant playing time.”

UMKC will look to stay hot as they return home to host South Dakota on Sunday, Sep. 17, at 1 p.m. CT. The match will be broadcast on the WAC Digital Network free of charge and will have live stats through UMKC Stats.